30.11.22 – Young Carers in Staffordshire, Veterans Survey, 850 Lime Trees at Keele
Written by Hitmix Local News on 29 November 2022
Young carers in Staffordshire say they feel supported and know who to speak to if they are struggling with their caring role.
Members of Staffordshire County Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee have heard the thoughts of young carers aged between 8-15, to ensure they are getting the services that they need to support them.
There are over 2,000 people aged under 18 years of age who are ‘young carers’ in Staffordshire. These young carers provide care, assistance or support to another family member who is disabled, physically or mentally ill, or has a substance misuse problem.
Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Mark Sutton said: “Young carers are under a lot of pressure – not only are they coping with the usual things that come with being a young person, they are also having to care for a loved one. “This is why it’s so important we ensure the support we have in place for them is the right support, that they can speak to someone whenever they need to, and can also have some respite from their caring responsibilities.
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Former armed forces personnel and their families are being invited to share their experiences of using and accessing public services, An online survey gives them the opportunity to provide direct feedback on essential services like healthcare, education, social care, employment or retraining.
Staffordshire has a strong connection with the armed forces, with large bases in Stafford and Lichfield, along with many veterans, reservists, cadets and armed forces families across the county. According to the 2021 Census, 30,758 Staffordshire residents reported previously serving in the UK armed forces, 4.2% of the local population. This is above the national and regional average.
The survey is available at Veterans’ Survey and is being carried out by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The feedback will provide a better understanding of the needs of armed forces communities and to help reshape services to make sure they have fair and equal access to all public services.
For more details and contact information including a link to the veterens survey go to the Hitmix website and search local news
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Hundreds of lime trees could be planted on land at the former Keele golf course in spring 2023 to celebrate the forthcoming 850th anniversary of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The fitting proposal – being discussed by Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday, 6 December at 2pm – features in the latest phase of a long-term strategy to turn local green spaces into carbon capture woodlands for future generations.
On the agenda is an update on the Council’s Urban Tree Planting Strategy, an ongoing project to boost the number of trees on urban sites across the borough which will contribute towards ambitious net carbon zero goals as part of its Sustainable Environment Strategy.
As well as plans for a commemorative Lyme Forest at Keele containing 850 lime trees –additional sites are set to be planted up with a range of native trees in early 2023. Residents can comment on the plans for Keele in the Newcastle Borough Council website www.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk until 5 December.
Over the past two years, 265 trees have been planted on eight Newcastle sites. All of these sites will form part of an essential mosaic of local green spaces that will be protected for the benefit of nature recovery and carbon capture for the future. In time, further carbon reduction opportunities on these sites, with community involvement, will be considered.
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